


The Curse of Hanahaki

by finally_isaac



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Curses, Flowers, Hanahaki Disease, Lingerie, M/M, No beta oops, Original Character(s), Past Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, Past Relationship(s), Platonic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Rating May Change, Remus Behaviors, Remus needs a hug, Sibling Rivalry, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Swearing, Unexpected Repercussions, Very Creative Title Obviously, cursing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25520479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/finally_isaac/pseuds/finally_isaac
Summary: At nine years old, Remus just wanted to scare Morality a little bit.Who knew that years later his actions would have consequences. . .
Relationships: Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders
Comments: 137
Kudos: 89





	1. Scaring Morality

A blood-curdling scream ripped from Remus' throat, echoing across the open plain. Pain and suffering followed the sound like a wave, pushing terrible feelings out of each being who may have felt it.

Roman winced painfully, tears pushing out his eyes in quick succession as a reaction to the emotional turmoil in his chest. He gasped, weapon dropping to the ground by his feet while his hands pressed hard against his ears to block the sound. "Remus!" He pleaded, "Don't do that!"

The screaming ceased quickly, instead replaced by Remus' hysterical giggling. "But you killed me!"

Glaring angrily at his twin, Roman pulled his hands back to his side. "Yeah! But you can't scream like that in the imagination!" The nine-year-old insisted haughtily, "It makes everyone feel icky."

"Then maybe you should stop bringing everyone to _our_ playtime," Remus muttered petulantly, finally lifting his head off the ground to send a glare – identical to the one his brother wore – at the two others sitting nearby in the field.

Morality was still crying, sobs pulling from his throat while he clutched at his chest as though he could squeeze out all the horrid feelings. Logic looked vaguely uncomfortable, though he seemed to be trying valiantly to act unaffected. They both were seated on a gingham print blanket in Roman's favourite colour – red, of course.

Remus huffed as Roman dismissed his comment, ignoring it to instead rush towards little Morality. He shushed the young boy and wrapped him into a tight hug, whispering things that Remus couldn't hear.

Not for the first time, Remus wondered why he wasn't allowed to hug Morality but Roman was. And why wouldn't morality tell them his name? Remus had never felt a reason to hide his own name; Roman argued that this was because Remus had no shame, but Remus couldn't see the connection. He knew Roman's name, after all ( _"Because we're brothers!"_ Roman argued, _"Nobody else knows my name and you're not allowed to tell 'em!"_ ).

Once Morality calmed down, Roman waved Remus over to the blanket.

Huffing heavily, the dark twin pushed himself off the ground and trudged over to the group. Distantly, he wished that Deceit was with them so that he wouldn't feel so ostracized from the group – Deceit hugged him. Sometimes. "What do you want, Butthole?" Remus asked as he approached. He tried not to notice Morality flinch away from him or Logic's reproachful stare.

"Apologize to Morality," Roman stated simply, arm still around his compadres shoulders. "What you did was really mean and scary." He paused and Remus was about to reply but Roman cut him off. "Not that _I_ was scared. I'm very brave. But Morality was scared. So say sorry."

Remus groaned and flopped onto the ground dramatically. "Morality, you're no fun," he stated unhappily.

Morality whined, face ducking behind Roman.

"Remus!" Roman huffed, "Stop being a meanie."

"Stop being a meanie," Remus mocked, rolling onto his stomach so he could kick his legs around in the air.

Logic rolled his eyes and stood up, straightening his jeans and bowtie before he offered a hand to Morality. "Perhaps it is time we take our leave? I can escort Morality to his room."

Morality nodded fast while Roman whined unhappily. "No, no, no! Remus will be nice! Right, Remus?"

"Probably not," Remus grinned, "Morality is fun to mess with."

Roman rounded on Remus fast. "Don't make me beat you up again with my sword!" He threatened.

"Stick," Logic corrected, unhelpfully, "It was a stick. Not a sword."

"Not the point!" Roman cried despairingly, "Morality is a damsel in distress and I will protect his honour!"

Morality sent a small smile to Roman. "Thank you, Creativity," he whispered from his place beside Logic, clutching the other boy’s arm.

Remus stood up, the last one to do so, and rolled his eyes. "Morality can't be a damsel," he argued, "He's a boy!"

"So?" Roman challenged.

"So, damsel's are girls," Remus shot back, crossing his arms.

"I can- I can be a damsel if I want- If I want to!" Morality protested, though his stuttering and typically shy-nature stole the eagerness from the words.

There was a long pause before Remus finally relented. "Fine. But damsel's have to be pretty. Pretty people don't wear polo shirts and khakis."

Again, there was a long pause. Roman broke the silence with a long sigh. "Damsel's can wear whatever they want. _And,_ Morality is very pretty. But... A costume change would definitely be beneficial."

Both twins stared expectantly at Morality. Logic leaned down to whisper something and the fear lessened in Morality's eyes. "O-Okay," he agreed quietly.

"Yes!" Roman and Remus shouted in unison. _Dress up_ was a favourite that they had always shared.

The picnic blanket disappeared with a snap of Remus' fingers, replaced by a miniature stage of sorts. Roman promptly ushered Morality onto the platform while Logic sat down with a book Roman had summoned earlier in the afternoon.

Morality awkwardly fiddled with his fingers, hopping from foot-to-foot. "Nothing too silly, okay?" He asked hopefully, "I don't want Remus to make fun of me."

Roman promised even as Remus groaned in annoyance.

They twins bickered quietly for a moment as they discussed what outfit to try first. They eventually agreed on a princess-style dress (Roman's idea) in the colour green (Remus' idea), and together they snapped their fingers so Morality's civilian clothing disappeared and was replaced by the new garment.

"Oh!" Morality squeaked, jumping in surprise at the change. There was a moment of quiet as he looked down at himself, nervous, but he was grinning soon enough. "It's so sparkly!" He gasped, spinning in a circle just to watch the skirt flare out.

Roman nodded thoughtfully as they watched Morality's excitement build. "Yes," he muttered, "That's much prettier... But it's missing something."

"Frogs?" Remus suggested, "Garbage and flies?"

Roman giggled despite himself and shook his head. "Ew! No, Remus!"

"Flowers...?" Remus tried again, hesitant.

Both twins jumped when Morality squealed happily at the idea. "Yes please!" He begged, "Flowers! I want a flower crown, pretty please!"

Roman grinned and snapped his fingers easily, causing a crown of daisies to pop into existence atop Morality's curly hair.

More squealing commenced.

⁕⁕⁕

It was dark by the time everyone decided it was time to leave the imagination. Many hours had been spent playing dress-up; Roman had designed a princely outfit and declared it to be his new daily attire, Logic had ended up in a three-piece suit while he walked around arm-in-arm with Morality who had switched through a variety of princess dresses with matching flower crowns. Though each dress had been poofed away, the sentimental side had insisted on keeping every flower crown – "I'll keep the petals in my journals!" He'd announced excitedly.

Remus was happy to say that he'd had fun.

They all walked together towards the exit, chatting vibrantly as they did and each holding hands with the person next to them. Of course, Remus was on one end of the line so he was only holding Roman's hand, but still... It felt nice to be included.

"These flowers are all so pretty," Morality giggled, watching the crowns float around in front of him – courtesy of Roman's imagination-provided powers – and looking towards both twins. "Thank you for letting me keep them!"

Roman's grin grew wider. "I love flowers. Especially roses!"

Remus hummed. "Roses are cool. When they die they get all dark and mushy and remind me of blood."

Silence followed the statement and Remus winced. Even after nine years of existing, he still could never figure out what thoughts were normal and what was considered... Intrusive. Gross. Unwanted.

But whatever. He'd already started the train of thought, right?

"Can you imagine what they'd look like if they were actually covered in blood and guts? They'd be all drippy and goopy!" He giggled, "Like, what if you had a bunch of flowers in your stomach and they all, like, burst out? It'd be so gross."

"Gross indeed," Logic agreed tersely, hand gripping Morality's slighter tighter.

"Yeah," Roman agreed, tugging his hand away from Remus' gently. "You can't stay stuff like that..." The princely side looked embarrassed, glancing between Remus and the others quietly. "It's icky, Remus."

Silence again.

Remus stewed angrily, arms now crossed over his chest. It was always like this when Roman brought _them._ He always looked at Remus like he was an embarrassment, a _wrong_ in the midst of people who were all _right._

"It'd be really sad."

Remus looked over to see Morality looking back at him, a serious expression on his face.

"I think that if flowers burst outta somebody, it'd be really sad cause then they'd be gone."

"So what?" Remus snapped. Morality never questioned Roman's ideas, after all. Nobody questioned Roman's ideas.

Morality glanced at the ground for a moment before he dropped Logic's hand so he could grab one of the floating flower crowns – the one made of daisies. "The people who loved them would miss them," he whispered, "And then they'd never get to see flowers again without being sad, and that would be bad because flowers should make people happy."

It was silent again.

Remus hated that sound. Empty nothingness, surrounding his head in thick drapes. Silence, he knew, was caused by people not wanting to voice their thoughts – and why? Did they fear social grace? Did they fear being ostracized?

Well. Remus was ostracized regardless of weather he voiced his thoughts or not. It wasn't fair and never had been. And Roman, his own brother, didn't even stand up for him! No, his twin was always telling him to _stop_ because his behaviour was _embarrassing._

"Maybe nobody would miss them."

Morality frowned and Roman huffed, but Remus continued.

"What if nobody loved that person? Maybe that person loved so much that flowers grew inside them, but nobody else loved them back so they _died_ and _nobody_ would miss them?!"

"Statistically," Logic interrupted, "Somebody would miss them. The likelihood of that person being entirely unloved by everyone who's ever met them is very low."

Morality perked up at that which made Remus even more mad.

"Statistics can be wrong." He stopped walking just long enough to pause the rest of the group, then moved to stand in front of the other three boys. "Y'know what? I'll prove it!"

Roman and Logic levelled matching unimpressed stares at Remus. Morality looked terrified.

"I'm gonna cast a curse on the mindscape!" He declared. Gasps pushed through the group as everyone started to protest the idea, but Remus ignored them easily. "The curse of Hanahaki! If anyone in the mindscape ever falls in love with someone who doesn't love them back, then that person will be cursed to have flowers grow inside them until they suffocate and _die_!" He posed dramatically, hands raised threateningly in the air as he summoned the power of the imagination.

"Curses- Curses aren't real!" Logic sputtered, "He can't cast a curse!" The smart boy turned to Roman as though hoping for confirmation, but the fanciful side could only bite his lip uncertainly.

"Wait! Wait!" Morality lurched forward, tears filling his young eyes, "Don't curses have, like, a way to break them? You have to decide how to break the curse!"

Roman jumped forward with a look of hope and intrigue. "Yes! Yes, Morality is correct!"

Remus glared at them all, thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Y'know what? I dunno if the imagination is strong enough to do this or not, so why not try?" He closed his eyes and thought long and hard while he reached out for all the imagination Thomas Sanders' possessed. "Okay! To break the curse, the afflicted person must have their unrequited loved returned! They have one month to make the person fall in love with them, or else they _die_!"

Morality sobbed quietly, fearful of Remus' magic. Roman looked around in concern, arms outstretched as though he could hold back the imagination itself. Logic had his arms crossed tightly around himself, lips pressed together in an effort to hide any and all emotion. Remus breathed in heavily and exhaled slowly, lowering his arms.

. . .

Nothing happened.

"Ha!" Roman promptly shouted, "You failed! A curse like that is too big."

Remus shrugged. He hadn't really thought it would work anyway... He just wanted to scare Morality, maybe even Logic. "Whatever. I'm going back to my room."

"As will I," Logic agreed, following Remus towards the exit once more. Morality and Roman followed quickly.


	2. Growing Up

"Wrong, gross, and bad for Thomas!" Roman had said the day he abandoned Remus for good. "Thomas needs fanciful, romantic, imaginative thoughts. _Not_ intrusive nightmares."

Remus had always known it would happen. Roman had spent twelve long years being embarrassed by Remus – he was destined to become tired of it eventually.

Remus didn't mind.

He didn't.

Besides, he still had Deceit and Anxiety! _The Dark Sides,_ as Roman called them. They were closer than anyone else in the mindscape; they were the only ones who truly knew how to protect Thomas Sanders, after all, the only ones who could do what needed to be done. With Deceit as their leader, there was no way they could be in the dark for long!

So Remus had merely smiled unnervingly wide at his twin and waved him off. "See if I care!" He'd called with a laugh as Roman ran away, "I don't need you!"

***

As it happened, Deceit' plan was more... _Long term_ than Remus had expected. At the age of sixteen, four years after Remus' traitorous brother had run off to join The Light Sides, Deceit still hadn't made a move.

"Even a mediocre chess player knows to set up the pieces before starting the game," Deceit had told them. "The time will come. Thomas needs us, but he is not ready to listen."

Remus' didn't want to wait but he trusted Deceit.

***

At the age of twenty _The Dark Trio,_ as Remus called them, become _The Dark Duo._

Anxiety was done waiting. He left without so much as a goodbye the moment The Light Sides offered him a space. Thomas Sanders had accepted Anxiety.

Remus didn't mind.

Janus, though... Janus did mind.

Remus would never forget the way Deceit looked when he ran into Remus' room; his eyes were wide and filled with tears, his hat missing and hair a mess while his fingers tugged on it incessantly.

He'd babbled unintelligible nonsense while Remus starred in shocked confusion. He caught words here and there, hiccupped gasps of, "Virgil," and "Ran," and "Gone!"

Remus knew he shouldn't, he wasn't really supposed to, but he ran to Deceit and pulled the yellow-clad side into a strong hug.

When Deceit finally stopped panicking his arms wrapping carefully around Remus. "Virgil is gone," he whispered quietly.

"Okay."

"He's not coming back."

"Okay."

"My name is Janus."

"Okay."

Remus tried not to think about the fact that Janus had known Anxiety's real name and he hadn't.

He didn't mind.

***

Janus never seemed to fully recover from their loss of Virgil. At the age of twenty-three, Janus regularly had days where he could barely tolerate getting out of bed. Remus tried to help, he really did, but there was nothing for it... Janus' heart was broken and Remus couldn't fix it.

Of course, Janus had never confided in Remus the details of his relationship with Virgil. He didn't need to. Remus wasn't blind.

Though Janus suffered many bad days, he also had many good days as well. Remus and Janus became closer than they'd ever been, closer than Remus had ever been with anyone that wasn't Roman.

It was on a good day, laying in The Imagination on a green-gingham picnic blanket, that Remus remembered The Curse of Hanahaki. It'd been so many years ago, on a day just like today, and Remus couldn't help the smile that grew over his face as he silently reminisced.

"What're you thinking about?" Janus asked quietly, head resting against Remus' chest. They often cuddled in the mindscape because Janus got cold so easily and the practice had followed them into the imagination a handful of times.

Remus shrugged halfheartedly, a hand flicking off Janus' hat so he could run his fingers through his friend's soft hair. "Nothing really," he muttered, "Just some old memories."

"Tell me about them," Janus insisted, snuggling closer to Remus.

Remus chuckled and wrapped his arm around his friend. "When we were kids, Roman used to drag Logic and Morality into the imagination to play games with us. I always hated it, but scaring them was funny. Especially Morality. He cried a lot." They both laughed quietly at that for a second before Remus continued; "One time I tried to scare them by putting a curse on the mindscape."

Janus perked up curiously, lifting his head slightly to gaze up at Remus. "Did it work?"

Remus shrugged. "Probably not. Nothing seemed to happen."

"Well, what was it?" Janus looked intrigued now, sitting up fully to give his full attention. He always seemed so fascinated when Remus talked about the powers granted to him within The Imagination.

It took a long moment of thought, it'd been so long ago, but the creative side eventually sat up fully as well before reciting; _"The curse of Hanahaki. If anyone in the mindscape ever falls in love with someone who doesn't love them back, then that person will be cursed to have flowers grow inside them until they suffocate and die. To break the curse, the afflicted person must have their unrequited loved returned. They have one month to make the person fall in love with them, or else they die."_

They were both quiet for long moments, staring at each other. Remus fidgeted in his spot while Janus considered the curse and the more time that passed, the more Remus wasn't sure what Janus could be thinking about.

Finally, Janus broke the silence.

"It didn't work."

Remus stared dumbly at his friend for long moments before asking, "How do you know?"

Janus laid down on the blanket, this time laying on his side to face away from Remus.

He didn't answer the question for a long time. Remus had almost given up waiting, laying down himself to nap in the sun, when the reply finally came;

"Virgil doesn't love me."

It was all the answer Remus needed.

***

At twenty-five, Remus had long-since assumed that Janus had given up on their plans to join The Light Side. He'd assumed that, after Virgil left, Janus wouldn't want to anymore.

Apparently he'd been wrong.

"It will work!" Janus was promising, pacing around their grungy kitchen with a giddiness he hadn't shown in years. "I think that, if you distract the others, I can convince Logic that we are integral to helping Thomas succeed."

Brows pinched and tone uncertain, Remus asked, "What will that accomplish?"

"He will put in a good word for us," Janus stated.

His certainty was admirable but Remus still wasn't sure. "Why haven't we tried this sooner?"

At this, Janus paused. He breathed in deeply, seeming to struggle for a moment before he released the breath and shot Remus a hopeful smile. "I didn't think it would work before. Now I do."

Being left alone with Morality, Virgil, _and_ Roman sounded... Terrifying. Exhausting. Impossible.

But Remus trusted Janus. He agreed to the plan.


	3. The Plan

Though he didn't have a full grasp on Janus' exact plan, Remus knew he could execute his part perfectly. Distracting The Light Sides? Easy.

The hard part waiting patiently for Logic to separate himself from the group so that Janus could persuade him.

As things stood, The Light Sides were having a 'Movie Marathon.' Logic's choice, a rainforest documentary, was currently playing on the screen.

"So, what, we have to wait for him to need to piss or something?" Remus grumbled quietly at Janus. They were watching from the kitchen – much cleaner and more well-stocked than it's Dark Side counterpart, by the way – and taking turns peeking out the door every few minutes.

Janus shrugged. He'd been nearly silent since they arrived.

Remus knew that seeing Virgil was hard on him.

"I suppose so," Janus answered quietly, moving to lean against the counter beside Remus. "I see no better option. I wasn't anticipating that they'd watch movies all day."

"It sounds fun," Remus threw out half-heartedly.

Janus nodded weakly. "Indeed." There was a pause as the yellow-clad side took in a deep breath. "Once Logic speaks for us and we become Light Sides, I'm sure we'll be invited to activities such as this. What movie would you pick, Creativity?"

Grinning at the name – Janus was the only side who recognized his true function and referred to him as such – Remus threw an arm around his friend. "Madonna's sex tape!"

Janus was quick to shush him, even through their mutual giggles. "Of course," he smiled, nuzzling into the warmth of Remus' side, "I'd expect nothing else from you."

"What about you?" Remus quipped, eyes glancing towards the door. Nobody seemed to be approaching and he hadn't heard anyone getting up from the couch yet...

"Perhaps a musical." A yawn escaped Janus, "Phantom of the Opera or Les Miserables."

Humming quietly, Remus nodded. "Makes sense."

They both chuckled softly.

Long moments of comfortable silence passed before Janus pulled out of Remus' soft embrace. He moved to the door to check on the status of the others; Remus winced at the look of fatigue on Deceit. Rather than gliding across the room with his usual elegance, he seemed to be slumping through heavy steps.

If seeing Virgil from a distance was this hard, what would it be like to live with him again?

Remus was about to comment when Janus' breath hitched dramatically.

"Shit!" Janus turned to rush towards Remus, shooing him towards the back exit of the room with panicked waving. "Morality is coming! Move quickly!" His hissed whispers took a more snake-like quality in his haste and Remus was quick to obey his orders.

Together they stumbled towards the exit as quietly as they could manage, tripping over each other as they went. With the panic pushing in around his brain, Remus had to brace both of his hands over his mouth to stop the flood of intrusive thoughts that wanted to push out.

"Who's there?"

They both screeched to a halt, breaths held tightly in their throats.

_They'd been caught._

By Morality, no less. The side least likely to support them, according to Janus.

Janus was the first to break the silence, turning around in the doorway on his heel with his hands held together innocently in front of himself. "Morality! How wonderful to see you!"

Remus could hear the fear in Janus' voice, though it was covered thickly in sugary notes and smiling gestures.

"My name is-"

"Deceit!" Morality squeaked.

The Dark Duo flinched away from the exclamation but Janus did not back away. "That is correct," he hummed, "And this is my associate: Creativity."

Remus turned now as well, waving at Morality excitedly. His grin turned feral at the sight of the other – he'd changed so much since their childhood but his chubby cheeks and fearful eyes were the same as ever.

"What- what are you doing here?" Morality stuttered. His legs shook as he took a step back, ready to run.

"Oh!" Janus swooped in quickly, wrapping an arm around the blue-clad side to sweep him gently away from the door. Remus followed his friends' lead and manoeuvred himself to block Morality's exit. "We're here on business," Janus smiled, "You're just the side we wanted to see!"

Remus couldn't help but smile fondly. Janus, Master of Deceit, was exceptional at his purpose. It was nice to see him in his element. They were both nervous to be caught by the other Light Sides, but Janus talked as though he held no fears.

"Me?" Morality questioned. He was clearly unsure, glancing anxiously between The Dark Duo and the door. "Why?"

"Well, why not?" Janus supplied. An extra pair of arms appeared out of Morality's sight-line and gestured at Remus and the door.

Ah... Time to distract the others. Janus could handle things from here.

Remus smirked and ducked out of the kitchen with confidence.

***

Remus arose into the living room with a bright grin. He happily stood behind the couch, surveying the three sides that sat there.

To the left sat Logic – black button-up, blue necktie, and sensible dress pants.

To the right, Virgil – stitched purple and black hoodie (that was new), black skinny jeans, and heavy eye shadow.

That left Roman in the middle – his Prince outfit hadn't changed very much, though it was now embellished with shinier golds and a silkier sash.

Remus snapped his fingers and watched gleefully as each of their clothes changed to colour-appropriate lingerie: a corset for Roman, a teddy for Logan, and a sheer robe for Virgil.

A silent moment of confusion passed over the three before they dawned looks of horror and started yelling.

Remus allowed hysterical cackles to befall him as he watched. He was aware of all eyes on him even as he fell over the back of the couch and somersaulted over it to land loudly on the floor.

"Your faces!" He screeched happily, clutching his stomach as the pain started to flare through him. "You all look ridiculous!"

More yelling commenced, the words now directed at Remus but covering each other enough that he couldn't make out what they were saying. His laughter only got louder.

It was Virgil shouting, an echo lacing his voice in an unfamiliar way, that brought silence through the room.

"Remus," Virgil hissed, pulling the robe closer around himself as if the sheer fabric would cover his skin somehow. "Fix this!"

Remus shook his head, still grinning. "I don't think I will."

Roman groaned heavily, slumping backwards to face the ceiling with closed eyes. His muttering was mostly indecipherable but Remus swore he heard some curse words.

"Why not?" Virgil begged. Anxiety's scarlet blush was visible even through his pale foundation and the sight only made Remus chuckle.

"It's funny!"

"I must disagree," Logic gritted from his side of the couch.

Remus couldn't help but notice the panicked glances that Logic was sending towards Roman. _Interesting..._ "Well," The Duke smirked, "You never were any fun, Logic."

Logic glared but the effect was lost – how could Remus be intimidated by a man in a dark-blue teddy with matching sheer stockings?

"Y'know," Remus finally sat up to properly look at the other sides, "You guys look pretty great. I should be a fashion designer!"

"We look ridiculous..." Logic muttered at the same time that Roman shouted, "Shut up, Remus!"

"Oh, brother," Remus sighed, faking a pout as he stared up at Roman. It'd been so long since he'd seen the other... Nothing had changed, not really, except that his twin now sported broader shoulders and a more defined jaw. "You used to love playing dress-up!"

Roman scowled – Remus noted how obnoxiously haughty it looked – and gestured down at his red corset angrily. "Not like this!" He gritted through clenched teeth, "Fix this!"

"No fun at all," Remus sighed heavily.

Virgil stood suddenly and started a quick departure towards the kitchen. "Fuck this," he growled, "I'm grabbing some water. Somebody get rid of him before I get back!"

"No!" Remus screeched. He snapped his fingers to return normal clothes to the three before he used his powers to vanish the door to the kitchen. (He silently hoped that Morality wouldn't notice from the other side; the idiot would probably panic and blame Janus.)

Virgil turned to stare suspiciously at Remus but was quickly distracted when he noticed his hoodie had been returned. "Thank God," he gasped, ever the dramatic, and slumped over the back of the couch close to Logic (the glasses-clad side immediately took Virgil's hand and started counting numbers that Remus vaguely remembered as a breathing exercise).

"Why are you here?" Roman demanded. It seemed that with his Princely attire restored, he had gained the confidence to stand and stare down at Remus. His look of righteous fury vanished in an instant though as he seemed to be fighting off waves of giggles. "And why do you have a moustache?"

For a brief moment, Remus felt relief. His brother was looking at him so fondly, giggles in his eyes and love in his heart... It was a nice moment.

But it was dangerous. Remus schooled his face into a scowl and stood as well, matching Roman's height and standing chest-to-chest against his twin. "Don't look down on me," he threatened darkly, "I'm not lower than you. I never have been."

Roman's eyes flashed with surprise, something akin to hurt, then piercing anger. "Stand down, Remus," he intoned, "You're out of your element here. You're outnumbered."

Remus glanced over Roman's shoulder. He could take on Logic, probably, and Virgil was clearly having a hard time of his own at the moment. Roman was the only real challenge but if-

Janus' popped in silently behind the couch and smiled.

"Time to go!" Remus grinned, stepping back from his brother. A snap of his fingers returned the kitchen door. Janus had already disappeared when Remus wiggled his fingers at Roman mockingly. "Nice to see you, brother."

He ducked out to find Janus.


	4. A Visitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter? Already?
> 
> (P.S. We really are taking forever to get to the Hanahaki, huh?)

Returning to the grungy living room of The Dark Side after a day spent in its gorgeous counterpart was depressing, to say the least, but Remus held hope and excitement close to his chest to fend off the bitterness. Janus had looked pleased…

Things must have gone well with Morality.

"Janus!" He called out, spinning in a quick circle to survey the room. With no snake-man in sight, he took large steps towards his friends' room. "Janus?" He called again, "Dude, where are you?"

Janus emerged from his bedroom at the same moment that Remus had been about to walk in. They paused to stare at each other for long moments, eyes locked in a silent conversation... Then Janus smiled and Hell broke loose.

"We did it?!" Remus questioned excitedly even as Janus nodded enthusiastically. "Hell-fucking-yeah!" With a strength he rarely used, Remus lifted Janus into his arms and hugged him tightly. "You're a motherfucking genius, Janus!"

Laughter took the harshness away when Janus admonished him with a light, "Language, Remus."

They laughed and grinned and cheered together in excitement, stumbling their way towards the living room as they shouted half-thoughts at each other. To think, soon enough they'd be Light Sides! Out of this crappy, shadowed place!

"The terms of our agreement," Janus began to explain, "Are that Morality will serve as an ambassador of sorts. He's agreed to be the delivery boy. He will meet with us once a day, alone, for discussion. Then he will pass on information to the other Light Sides. They will discuss and the following day Morality will relay their information to us. The pattern will repeat until an agreement is reached, the end goal being that Thomas Sanders will accept both of us!"

Remus grinned excitedly. "You'll finally be in charge!" He paused their walk to the living room to take Janus' hands sweetly into his own. "You'll get to be happy, Janus."

"And you'll get to overthrow Roman as the head of the imagination," Janus promised, "I'll see to it that you get your happiness as well."

A loaded moment passed as they both ignored each other's quiet tears.

"Anyhow," Janus finally continued, turning away from Remus to march forward again, "A celebration dinner is in order! I'll make-"

Janus' breath hitched in a familiar sound of panic as he finally breached the living room.

Remus didn't bother to ask what was wrong as he came up behind his best friend; Virgil was standing in their living room.

"What're you two up to?" He questioned, an accusing gleam in his eyes. "You scared the crap out of Pat- Morality. He said you want him to come here tomorrow for a discussion? I want to know what that's about."

Remus was quick to push himself in front of Janus, intent on shielding his friend. He didn't know the full story but he knew enough; Virgil had hurt Janus in a way that was irreparable. "You weren't invited here, _Virgil_ ," he snarled.

 _"You told him my name?!"_ Virgil snapped, leaning as though to peer around Remus.

The Duke could feel Janus tense behind him.

"Don't talk to him!" He demanded quickly, "You don't get to talk to him. Go back to your precious Light Sides, Traitor."

The traitor in question narrowed his eyes at Remus for a long moment before heavily sighing and slouching – Remus hadn't even noticed his perfect posture until it was gone. "Look... Morality won't be able to handle coming here every day. It's too... Gloomy. He's very susceptible to heavy emotions."

"He'll survive," Remus countered, arms crossing defiantly, "Janus and I have survived here this long; _Patton_ can handle a few hours."

Virgil huffed. "So you cornered him and forced him to reveal his name?"

"No!" Janus piped up. He didn't leave his impromptu hiding spot, seemingly unable to look at Virgil, but his voice was clear when he spoke. "I merely pleaded our case. He gave his name willingly."

"Pleaded your case?" Virgil stepped forward, his eyes once against looking for Janus behind Remus. The green-clad side glared and twisted to block the view. "What case?"

"Our case to become Light Sides!" Remus shouted, hoping to save Janus from more involvement than necessary. "Thomas Sanders _will_ accept us."

The wide look to Anxiety's eyes portrayed his surprise as he stepped away once again. "You want to join us...?"

Remus only nodded.

"Okay," Virgil still looked suspicious and unsure but he continued on gracefully. "Let me be the bridge then. Patton can be... Forgetful. And clumsy."

Janus barked a laugh, "You're one to talk!"

Remus snickered as well, watching as Virgil's ears burned a hysterical red colour.

"Then Logic," Virgil tried, "Let Logic come instead. He's smart, he catalogues everything, and he won't have any emotional stakes."

Remus waited for Janus to reply. When silence fell, he turned to look at the snake, only to find a look of deep contemplation. A wrench had been thrown into their plans and Janus' needed time to think through a suitable solution... Remus needed to buy time.

"Dinner!" He shouted suddenly, causing both of the others to jump in surprise. "Why don't we all have dinner tonight to discuss... Stuff."

Janus smiled proudly at Remus. "Yes! That's a perfect idea."

Virgil shifted anxiously front foot to foot. "I dunno..."

"Putting us all together in one place will allow us to find the best solution," Janus stated strongly.

"Yeah, but..." Virgil's breathing deepened slightly and his hands seemed to be shaking, "All of us in the same room all at once? Dude, that's a disaster waiting to happen. You can't even look at me!"

The line 'And whose fault is that?!' was held at the tip of Remus' tongue, ready to throw at Virgil, but Janus stopped him with a carefully placed hand on his shoulder. "It's okay," he promised quietly. Deceit straightened his shoulders and gently pushed Remus' out of the way so he could look Virgil in the eye. 

"What time should we arrive for dinner?"


	5. Holding Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a really hard time with this chapter... But here it is!

"I hate this," Remus stated for the third time, tugging on the collar of his neon-green dress shirt. Then, again, he grumbled, "I hate this," while thumbing at the skull buttons. At least he didn't have to wear a stupid jacket...

Janus cooed at him and smoothed down the front of his shirt gently. "I know," he promised, "But it's necessary. You look wonderful, by the way." The soft smile Janus gave was enough to have Remus preening under the praise. 

"You look pretty hot yourself," he smirked. He took it upon himself to straighten out Janus' jacket — black over a yellow dress shirt, paired with dark slacks. "I mean, damn! I'd tap that." 

Laughing, Janus shook his head. "Well, we must present our best selves if we wish for things to go well." 

"You should lose the bowler hat." 

"Absolutely not." 

They both laughed, needlessly adjusting each other's outfits to pass the time and ease their nerves. 

"Y'know," Remus whispered, unable to stop himself, "Virgil doesn't know what he's missing. You're great, Janus." 

There was a beat of silence before Janus pulled away, moving with a jerkiness as though he'd been burned. "I don't know what you're talking about," he snapped, turning away suddenly. "We should leave. We're fashionably late, as planned, but I wouldn't want to keep them waiting too long." 

The Duke held back an ashamed grimace — Janus was used to his inability to hold his thoughts back but sometimes his intrusive nature was still _too much_ and Remus wished he could just _stop._ "Yeah," he agreed solemnly, "Yeah, let's go." 

Remus was about to leave — they'd agreed to rise up in The Light Side's living room where Logic would be waiting to greet them — when Janus suddenly grabbed his shoulder. "Wait! One last thing." 

Remus tilted his head in question but otherwise held his tongue. 

"Do you remember what we talked about?" 

A heavy sigh escaped before Remus could stop it. "Yeah. Let you do the talking, try to stay quiet, and don't provoke Roman." The idea made him uncomfortable; they were supposed to be introducing themselves and convincing The Light Sides that they were worthy of acceptance... Why did Remus have to disguise himself? 

"None of that," Janus hummed, pulling him into a hug. "Your thoughts are so loud." He chuckled quietly before pulling away, holding Remus' shoulders at an arm's length. "Once I am in charge, I promise you will be free to be yourself. Until then, we must make the proper moves." 

Remus nodded. He held his tongue again... He trusted Janus.

"Wonderful. Now, let's go." 

***

Logic looked annoyed when they arrived. 

"You're late," he stated with narrowed eyes, "The agreed-upon time was _ten minutes ago._ If you're intending to make a good first impression then you're off to a terrible start."

Remus dutifully stayed quiet and allowed Janus to take charge. "Apologies, Logic," the sly man smiled, "It won't happen again, I assure you." 

Logic nodded but gave no other reply before turning to lead the way to the dining room. Janus followed easily and gestured for Remus to do the same.

They walked swiftly to the dining room. The only person at the table was Virgil; the anxious side was slumped into his seat, chin buried in his hoodie and eyes trained intently on his phone as he aimlessly scrolled. 

"Virgil," Logic spoke, "Our guests have arrived." 

There was no response besides a half-hearted wave — Janus didn't return the gesture so Remus held back his urge to do so. He also resisted his urge to scream or make a fart noise — _anything_ to end the uncomfortable silence.

Janus sat down. Remus sat beside him. Logic sat across from the two of them. 

Long moments passed. 

Quiet, unbearable, tense moments... 

"Where's Roman?" Remus suddenly blurted. 

Janus shot him a quick glance, somewhere between a glare and panic, before turning to Logic with a slow smile. "Ah, yes, where is The Prince and Morality?" 

"Kitchen," Virgil muttered. 

Logic nodded in agreement. "They're making dinner. They should be done quite shortly." 

Remus dug his nails into the rough fabric of his dress pants and prayed they didn't leave holes behind. He wondered, absently, if any of The Light Sides had Trypophobia. Would holes in his pants be triggering? Would they send Virgil into a panic attack? Would Patton cringe away in disgust? Would his brother–

"Food’s done!" Came Patton's cheerful, though slightly nervous, voice. "Lo, would you mind helping us carry everything to the table?" 

Logic nodded his agreement and quickly made his way into the kitchen. 

"Virgil, will you be alright out here?" Patton asked gently from the door, his head poking out to reveal concerned eyes. He glanced nervously between The Dark Duo and the side in question.

"It's fine," Virgil mumbled without looking up from his phones. His hands were shaking slightly. 

Patton hummed, clearly unsure, but quickly turned to help bring out the food. 

Remus bit his tongue hard enough to taste blood. 

It wasn't long before all the food had been brought out and placed on the table. Remus was surprised to see mismatched plates of various colours and designs rather than the pristine and matching collection of dishes he would have assumed The Light Sides preferred. Also, rather than food that looked like something from a magazine, the meal looked surprisingly _flawed._ The lasagna was burned slightly around the edges and the salad seemed to have a few too many cherry tomatoes. 

It wasn't perfection like Remus would have assumed.

If Janus was surprised, Remus couldn't tell. The yellow-clad side simply smiled and said, "What a wonderful meal! Thank you for preparing it, Morality." 

"I helped!" Roman jumped in, eyes narrowed at Deceit judgmentally. He was sitting beside Logic; Virgil and Patton sat at each head of the table. 

Remus rolled his eyes at his brother and opened his mouth to make a comeback but... He sighed and stayed silent. 

"Ah, yes, thank you as well," Janus smiled, leaning an elbow on the table and resting his chin in his hand. "Your efforts are greatly appreciated, Prince Roman."

Silence descended upon the group as everyone shifted uncomfortably, the only exception being Janus who sat with an air of grace that Remus couldn't help but admire. 

It was Logic who broke the silence by clearing his throat. "We should eat before the food gets cold," he stated, "And then we'll discuss whatever needs to be discussed." 

"Wonderful idea," Janus complimented, sitting straight once again. 

Patton jumped up to start dishing out the food for everyone, starting with Janus and Remus because _"Guests should be served first,"_ and ending with himself. They all tucked into their food silently.

The sound of forks scraping against the plates send Remus' mind spiralling. 

The sound of chewing made his thoughts twist against each other violently. 

The texture of the lasagna made him want to scream profanities. 

When was the last time he'd held himself back like this? Janus rarely asked him to do such a thing. Except for a few overboard thoughts, Janus accepted everything Remus said in stride. 

The last person to restrain him was Roman...

Roman, who was a high _Prince_ rather than a lowly _Duke._

Roman, who was seen as the _true_ Creativity rather than an unwanted section of it. 

Roman, who was sitting at the table smiling as he ate. 

Roman, whose eyes kept glancing towards Logic with a spark of... Something.

Remus grit his teeth and looked down at his plate silently. He had to keep it together... Janus would be upset if he antagonized Roman. Janus would be upset if Remus were to _speak_ at all. 

"Remus? Are you alright?" 

Suddenly every eye was on him and Remus startled violently, staring intently at the speaker. _Morality._

"Yes?" He responded with an unsure lilt to his voice, "I guess so?" 

Janus cleared his throat, stealing the attention back as he began to make excuses for Remus' silence. The dark twin couldn't hear any of it though, his attention thoroughly trapped on Patton (who was now looking to Janus and nodding alone slowly in understanding). 

Patton was wearing his usual blue shirt and khakis, but the grey cardigan that usually wrapped around his shoulders was being worn properly. His freckles stood out starkly against his pale cheeks, as did the rosy blush that naturally accented his face. 

Why had he spoken to Remus? 

It was only one sentence, really; a short question that was likely only asked out of politeness. 

And yet it was spoken with such care, a softness Remus didn't recognize. It made his heart strain, aching for more of that soft comfort. 

_Why had Patton spoken to Remus? Why wasn't he terrified?_

Remus grit his teeth and stuffed the last few bites of his lasagna into his mouth. He could feel sauce splashed onto his cheeks and chin but he didn't care. 

Everyone else seemed to be finishing up as well. Janus was neatly placing down his utensils, Patton was carefully gathering empty plates, Virgil was slouching into his sweater again, Logic was sitting straight in his seat with an air of business about him, and Roman... Roman was talking. And staring straight at Remus. 

Was he talking to Remus? Remus wasn't sure. He couldn't focus. What was Roman saying? 

"... Remus...? Remus? Remus!" 

"What?!" The Duke jumped in his seat, turning suddenly to a concerned looking Janus. "What?" He asked again. 

"Prince Roman was just telling you to clean your face," he spoke gently, placing a hand on Remus' shoulder. "Are you alright?" 

Remus nodded. "I'm fine," he muttered. His head hurt and his hands felt shaky but he ignored that and grabbed a napkin off the table to wipe his face hastily. "Sorry."


	6. Surprising Discussions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowie this took forever... And yet it's incredibly short. Whoops.

With dinner finished and the table cleared, Logic stood and cleared his throat. "I have been asked by my fellow colleagues to be a mediator of sorts. I give my word to try to, as they say, 'keep the peace.' Is that satisfactory?"

Remus grimaced, picking at his nails quietly. The question was posed as though they could both answer, but Logic's eyes were locked on Janus. 

"Of course," Deceit smiled, voice slippery and sly, "I'd expect nothing less." 

Logic nodded before sitting again. 

Taking the opening, Janus stood and offered a sugary smile – Remus hated the way Janus looked so natural and in his element while lying. The only thing that gave him away was the lack of a dimple in his chin. "Fellow sides, I'd like to thank you all for coming. I do hope this meeting starts the beginning of kinship between us all." 

Virgil snorted and Roman audibly huffed, but Janus continued. 

"As I'm sure you all know, The Duke and I have made it our goal to be recognized and accepted by our host, Thomas Sanders. The four of you are integral to helping that process and we'd like to join you in The Light Side." 

This time, Roman and Virgil both snickered helplessly in their seats. Patton looked entirely uncomfortable. Logic looked impassive as always until the snickering went a moment too long and he sent a glare at the two causing it. It ceased immediately. 

"May I ask what is so amusing?" Janus questioned, all false sweetness and poisoned sugar. 

"We're not gonna just let you _move in_ or something," Roman scoffed. Virgil stayed resolutely silent, looking as though a glare was enough to have him properly chastised, but he did nod along with Roman. 

Remus could see the hurt in Janus' eyes. He wondered if anybody else could as well... 

If the pained look Patton kept throwing between Janus and Virgil was any indication, Morality knew _something_. Remus grinned slightly; Patton had barely said a word this whole time but he looked so incredibly helpless... _Had he been sworn to silence as well?_

Maybe they had something in common after all. 

"I had suspected that," Janus hummed, "And I don't expect that our rooms will be welcomed into The Light Side for some time." 

"Then what do you want?" Roman asked with a brow raised curiously, "What's your immediate goal?" 

Remus raised a curious brow as well, looking to Janus. What was their goal, exactly? 

"I'd like to propose a trial period." 

It seemed that the statement broke something in Virgil and caused the anxiety-ridden side to stand up so suddenly that his chair scratched loudly against the wooden floor. “No! You can’t stay here!” 

“Say’s who?” Janus snapped back, eyes narrowed dangerously. “Last I checked, you don’t make decisions, _Anxiety._ ” 

Virgil’s glare burned darker but before he could spit out more words, Logic stood and cleared his throat. “Virgil, I’m sorry but… Janus is correct. You don’t have the authority to make the final decision.” 

All eyes turned to Patton. 

Though unspoken, Morality was Thomas Sanders’ most treasured trait. Patton had always been the unofficial leader — he’d separated The Dark Side and The Light Side before any of them could speak and his power had been silently understood since. The final decision was his to make… 

So why had he been silent this whole time? Remus bit his tongue to keep from asking his queries out loud. 

“Well,” Patton stood slowly as Logic sat, “I think the only fair thing would be to put it to a vote.”

Janus scoffed from his seat. “Really, Morality—” 

“Patton,” the blue-clad side interrupted. 

Remus winced and glanced at Janus; the man had always hated being interrupted and it seemed to be happening quite a lot lately. Virgil’s words had stirred Deceit’s temper and Remus couldn’t help but wonder if Patton was about to receive the blunt end of it. 

“Patton,” Janus corrected through gritted teeth, though he was clearly attempting to sound sweet once again, “I assume you to be a reasonable man. Surely you can see that a vote is entirely unfair, given the circumstances.” 

Patton’s raised brows and surprised look gave away his naivety; Remus nearly laughed. It’d been years and Morality still hadn’t learned a thing. “How is it unfair?”

“It’d be two against four!” Remus shouted, unable to help himself.

Apparently he’d been too loud. Virgil and Patton both jumped, twin shouts of surprise jumping from their throats, and Roman nearly fell out of his damn chair. Even Logic donned a look of shock. 

Janus though… He just looked disappointed. He barely even glanced at Remus but The Duke could tell that his best friend was trying to hide his disapproval. 

“Two against four is hardly fair,” Janus spoke calmly, gaze turned to Patton. He’d chosen to ignore Remus’ outburst completely… Somehow that hurt more than if he’d reprimanded the intrusive side.

Patton whimpered and looked to his fellow Light Sides for support; Remus wondered idly if Patton found what he was looking for. Regardless, Morality turned back to Janus and responded; “Who says it would be two against four? The point of a vote is for everyone to get a say. You might be surprised.” 

Logic cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention before they could refute Patton’s point. “Unless you have a better suggestion, I think we should heed Patton’s advice.” 

Remus huffed and slouched into his seat. They’d lost then, hadn’t they? A vote would dismiss Janus’ trial period idea completely and they’d be at square one. 

Yet, Janus hadn’t answered yet. He was staring at Patton thoughtfully, tapping a finger against his knee in a way that Remus knew meant he was formulating some sort of plan. Finally, the snake nodded. “A vote then,” he agreed. 

Logic nodded as well and stood, taking it upon himself to conduct the vote. “All who oppose Janus’ proposed trial period?” 

Virgil and Roman’s hands shot up like fireworks, fast and furious in their decision. A look of pleased agreement passed between the two of them but their smiles fell fast… Their hands were the only ones raised. 

“Those in favour?” Logic stated, his own hand already raised.

Remus watched in shock as Patton’s hand raised as well. Morality was looking to Janus with a smile that was bordering on smug. In his surprise, Remus failed to raise his hand until Janus was aggressively nudging him. 

“Two against four,” Logic stated, “In favour of the trial period.” The glasses-clad side turned to Janus with the barest hint of a smile as he ignored the indigent mutterings coming from both Virgil and Roman, “Deceit, you have the floor. What will your trial period entail?”


	7. Brother Dearest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do believe that this is the longest chapter yet... And it's definitely been my favourite to write.

The Trial Period was set to last one month. Remus and Janus would stay with The Light Sides, living amongst them to prove that their presence would have no ill effects on their host and to ensure that everyone could get along in a civil manner. (Roman had added, “And if you’re here we can at least make sure you’re not up to something sinister!” but Remus was kindly ignoring his brother's input, thank you very much.) 

Per the rules of The Trial Period, Remus and Janus were also required to participate in any ‘Family Activities’ — Patton’s input — and The Light Sides would, in turn, sit respectively once a week to hear out Janus’ ideas and concepts. They’d insisted that they couldn’t allow The Dark Sides to meet Thomas so suddenly and, to Remus’ great surprise, Janus had agreed. 

In the end, Remus found himself packing his essential belongings into a backpack so he could avoid leaving The Light Side for the next month. 

Logic had been tasked with assigning them their new roommates. His choices, though approved by Janus, were less than ideal. Janus would be staying with Patton — it was implied that, as the unofficial leaders of the situation, it made the most sense to fit them together. Likewise, Patton held the largest room and sharing a room would make planning Family Activities easier.

That was fine by Remus, he didn’t care who Janus shared a room with, but he was jealous. Having Patton as a roommate sounded like a dream compared to the living nightmare that Remus would be enduring…

Roman’s room looked no different than he remembered it, though the walls were lined with infinitely more show programs and theatre awards. He idly wondered why Roman was allowed to keep all these trinkets when Remus had indeed helped to collect them but he opted to say nothing — even if the restraint made his fingers twitch. 

“You can conjure a bed on your own, I assume?” Roman asked flippantly, refusing to look Remus’ direction at all. 

Remus didn’t mind. 

“Yeah,” he muttered. 

Roman’s gesturing was less grand than usual as he directed Remus to the far left of the room and the dark twin vaguely remembered that this was usually a sign of frustration. “You can stay over there then,” the prince stated, “Just don’t touch anything that isn’t yours.” 

Biting his tongue to hold back a retort, Remus nodded. 

When they’d gone to get their things, Janus’ instructions had been very clear; do not antagonize Roman, avoid verbalizing his intrusive thoughts, and use the time to observe ways they could exploit Roman. An impossible task, but one Remus must bear… _“I promise you,”_ Janus had whispered, a hand resting heavily on Remus’ shoulder, _“When all is said and done, you will be free to be yourself.”_

For now, however, Remus was forced to water down his loud personality.

He didn’t mind.

A slight flourish of his hand brought a bed into existence; it was small, compact, and tucked neatly into the corner. Remus would be uncomfortable, spoiled as he was to have a king-sized mattress in his own room, but this option would be the least likely to further frustrate Roman. 

“Will you need a dresser for your belongings?” Roman asked. The disdain in his voice was evident and he obviously didn’t want to give up more of his space. His niceties were an obligation and Remus vaguely wondered if his brother had received identical instructions to be polite, to keep to himself, and to observe.

“No, I’ll be fine.” Living out of a backpack for a month would be fine; he’d manage. 

Yet this answer seemed to bother Roman further, causing the man's nose to scrunch with distaste and mild irritation. He said nothing though, only nodded curtly and turned away to walk to his own bed. 

Silence descended between them. The divide that had grown over their years apart seemed endless — a dark, deep void that itched at Remus’ brain and made him squirm.

Ignoring it the best he could, the dark twin jumped gracelessly onto his own bed and dug through his backpack. Once he located his cracked iPod Touch and headphones, he wasted no time in plugging himself into loud music with heavy bass and screaming guitars. 

He could feel his brother's eyes on him but refused to look. Rolling his eyes, he flopped back onto his pillow and bobbed his head along with the rhythm blasting into his ears. The effort of silence crawled along his skin like thousands of bugs. He closed his eyes and held his breath, hoping the sensation would fade. 

It didn’t.

Luckily, he was distracted by it when a pillow landed heavily on his face, shocking him into an upright position. 

“What the fuck?” he growled instinctively, ripping his headphones off to shoot a venomous glare at Roman. A scathing insult burned along the tip of his tongue but he held it back with such a great effort that he could feel his breathing quicken. 

Roman glared back at him, clearly irritable. “I can hear your music,” he accused. 

“So?” Remus asked in a hiss. 

The prince rolled his eyes, embodying the nickname completely in all his haughty glory. “ _So,_ ,” he mocked, voice sour, “Turn. It. Down.” 

Janus’ voice echoed cooly in Remus’ ear… He should comply and obediently turn the music down to whatever Roman deemed an acceptable volume. He knew it would be what Janus wanted but he couldn’t bring himself to do it; he needed some distraction, something to drown out all his intrusive thoughts so they’d stop itching against his brain. In the end, keeping the music on would be the lesser of two evils. “No.” 

The offended noise that escaped his brother made Remus smile despite himself. 

“This is my room!” Roman shouted, standing from his bed suddenly. “Turn it down!”

“For the time being,” Remus spoke through gritted teeth, forcing a calm he didn’t feel, “it’s my room too. I’m not turnin’ it down.” 

The resulting huff — loud enough to be a shout — made Remus wince. “You’re infuriating!” Roman accused, “What’s your problem?” 

Remus bit down on his tongue hard to avoid saying anything at all. 

“I know what your problem is,” Roman continued once it was clear that Remus had no intention of answering, “You think you’re better than everybody!” 

A bark of laughter forced its way past Remus’ lips and he couldn’t find it in himself to care. “That’s hysterical!” He cackled, hands coming up to tug on his hair — it did little to alleviate the way his brain was shaking. “You’re such a hypocrite! If anybody thinks they’re high and mighty, it’s you!” He followed Roman’s lead and stood, straightening to his full height — it lacked its usual intimidation seeing as Roman was tied with him for the tallest Side in the mindscape. “News flash, _your highness_ ; you’re not the shit you think you are.” 

Roman scoffed, his own chest puffed out dramatically and fists clenched at his sides. “Your ego’s been inflated brother.” He suddenly smirked and Remus hated the cocky look that adopted his face; “Y’know, your freaky boyfriend is probably to blame for that. What sort of lies has Deceit been telling you?” 

Remus’ glare hardened and stepped forward fast, hand flashing up to grab Roman by the collar of his ridiculous prince-outfit. “Don’t talk about him like that!”

“Aw, Remus,” Roman cooed mockingly, “I didn’t take you as the romantic type.”

“I’m plenty more romantic than your hopeless crush,” he accused vehemently, his own smirk spreading across his lips in a distasteful way. Speaking his mind like this pushed the bugs off his skin and finally he could breathe, even though hysterical giggles seemed to be falling freely from him. “Do you think nobody notices the way you look at Logic?” he asked, tone sickly sweet and taunting, “Do you really think he’d ever like you back, Roman? He’s _literally_ Logic. Even if he is _capable_ of feeling anything, he’s smart enough to know that you’re not worth very much.” 

Roman suddenly shoved him, causing them to both stumble apart with fumbling steps. 

“Shut up!” Roman shouted once he’d righted himself. 

“You started it!” Remus shouted back and he really didn’t care how childish it sounded. 

Roman growled, stomping his foot in an equally childish display. “I hate you!” 

“The feeling is mutual,” Remus promised through gritted teeth, “God, I wish you didn’t exist! I wish you’d just die!” 

Hurt flashed across Roman’s face briefly, mirroring the guilt that flashed across Remus’. They both returned to furious snarls within seconds. 

“Well,” Roman huffed haughtily, “Lucky for me, Sides can’t die, so I guess you’ll never get your wish.” 

A long-ago memory filtered into Remus’ mind suddenly. It was wicked, truly, an idea so terrible that he briefly considered discarding it altogether… But Roman was shouting again and Remus couldn’t even hear the words through the fiery anger at the forefront of his jumbled mind. 

And really, was the idea so terrible? Roman’s wishes had been granted throughout their whole lives — the prince was always guaranteed everything he wanted. Why couldn’t Remus have that, just once? Why couldn’t Remus have a wish fulfilled? 

The Duke raised his hands and closed his eyes, reaching out for the power of the Imagination. The magic that circled into his veins wasn’t as strong in Roman’s bedroom as it would have been in The Imagination, but it felt like enough — stronger than it had ever been in his childhood, for sure, and years of practice had sharpened Remus’ technique.

Roman’s shouting had quieted, turned instead to confused questioning.

Remus ignored him. 

" _The curse of Hanahaki,_ ” Remus murmured and he could hear his voice echoing across the mindscape — he could feel the burn of dark magic taking hold around every individual that inhabited their host. “ _If anyone in the mindscape ever falls in love with someone who doesn't love them back, then that person will be cursed to have flowers grow inside them until they suffocate and die._ ” Roman’s romantic nature would be turned against him. It was poetic justice, really, and too perfect to pass up. And then, “ _To break the curse, the afflicted person must have their unrequited loved returned. They have one month to make the person fall in love with them, or else they die._ " Every curse has a way to break it but Remus smirked happily at the thought that Roman would fail… Because of course, he would. Who could ever love someone as selfish and awful as his brother? 

It felt like Remus was floating on air as he cackled with unrestrained excitement. _This_ he could deal with; chaos, ruin, _vengeance_. 

The magic faded as slowly as it had risen, allowing Remus the ability to focus on the world around him once again.

He only had the pleasure of seeing Roman’s horrified expression for a few seconds before the prince doubled over, violently coughing up a burst of blue petals.


	8. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day!? I'm as surprised as you.
> 
> I was tempted to make this chapter long but it would have easily ended up over 2k words and I want to keep some semblance of consistency. That being said, this is mostly filler.
> 
> Edit: I wanted to shout out three commenters who've been here for every single chapter!   
> **Cookie Cat** , **soupstarsandsilence** , and **Rainstorm 67** ; thank you all for your continuous support! Your comments keep me excited about this story.

Logic was the first to show up, knocking on Roman’s door but not waiting for an answer before he walked inside. His expression was bordering on a scowl but, as usual, he seemed to be suppressing whatever emotion he was feeling. “Remus,” he started and his voice was deceptively calm, “ _What was that?_ ” 

Roman was still coughing, petals falling into his hands and tears dripping off his nose. His hands scratched at his throat as though he could push out the intruding flora, but his eyes turned up to Remus frantically. He glanced between his brother and Logic, a desperate plea in his eyes.

Remus, finally coming back to himself for the first time since the argument had started, winced and nodded slightly. He supposed, given the harm he’d just caused, he owed it to Roman to not spill his secret.

But still, Logic was waiting expectantly for an answer — though he’d moved quickly to stand near Roman, a hand resting on the Prince’s lower back as though to steady him through the coughing fit. 

“I was mad,” Remus muttered, “I didn’t— I wasn’t thinking clearly. I didn’t mean to— Well, I did mean to, but I shouldn’t have—” His thoughts were racing too fast. Not intrusively, not like bugs crawling across his skin, but instead like a whirlwind of guilt and fear and anger that built like a storm in his chest. He cursed, hugging himself tightly. 

He hated himself. 

_Fuck._

He supposed he’d been bound to lash out at the slightest push — he’d been bottling up his every instinct for hours — but this was such a monumental disaster. He hated Roman, he swore he did, but in the face of Roman’s coming demise he felt terrified. 

Finally, Roman’s coughing subsided and he was able to stand without support (though his legs still shook and tears still tracked down his cheeks). 

“I’m sorry,” Remus whispered petulantly. 

Patton ran in next, eyes wide, followed quickly by Virgil. The latter looked torn between an upcoming panic attack and incurable fury. 

“What did you do?!” the purple-clad side hissed, already coming straight at Remus, “You bastard! You said you actually wanted to come over here, into The Light Side, but you pulled this crap instead?!”

“I’m sorry,” Remus muttered again.

“Bullshit!” Virgil’s breathing was growing heavier by the second but before the anxious man could continue his attack, Patton came up behind him and gently took his hands.

“It’s going to be okay,” Patton assured quietly, “Remus was just trying to scare us. He did this when we were little and it didn’t work… Everything is going to be okay.” 

Remus wished that Patton didn’t sound so certain of himself in that moment, especially when a look of horror passed over his face when Logic spoke up next. “Actually, Patton, it appears the curse did take effect.”

Roman winced, arms coming around himself in a mirror of Remus’ self-inflicted hug. “Yeah,” he agreed weakly, kicking at the petals around his feet. 

They were all quiet for long moments… 

And then, from down the hall, shouting could be heard. The nearer it got, the more pained Remus felt — he was sure it reflected on his face as he grimaced but nobody showed him any sympathy. When Janus finally reached the door, a scowl across his face, Remus suddenly felt desperate. 

“I’m sorry!” he pleaded quickly, running towards Janus with his hands up in an attempt to show he meant no harm. “Janus, I’m so—” 

Janus cut him off with a glare and they stared at each other silently for long seconds. Remus knew he’d disappointed his best friend, possibly ruined a plan that had been a lifetime in the making, and he whimpered pitifully at the idea of losing Janus. He didn’t want to end up alone in The Dark Side but he knew that Janus wouldn’t hesitate to throw him under the bus — he was the weak link, afterall, a liability that Deceit couldn’t always afford. “Please,” Remus whispered, “I didn’t—” 

Again, Janus cut him off, but this time he cleared his throat. “Remove the curse, Remus.” 

Remus’ eyes widened for a moment before he nodded quickly. “Yeah! Yeah, of course!” He felt stupid. Why hadn’t he thought of that. He could just redact the curse!

Probably.

Hopefully.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, summoning power from The Imagination once again. When he opened his mouth to speak, he faltered; what was he supposed to say? “I take back the curse?” No echo, no booming certainty… He opened one eye but closed it quickly when he saw the flash of panic through Janus’ eyes. “End the curse! I take it back!” 

Nothing seemed to happen. The magic felt useless in his hands. 

“Great,” Roman laughed bitterly. A touch of hysteria seemed to be in the sound and Remus tried to ignore it as he sent the magic back where it belonged. 

Janus sighed heavily, a hand coming to rub at his closed eyes. Everyone watched the yellow-clad side quietly, waiting.

It took forever for Janus to drop his hand but when he did, he seemed far calmer. “I suppose we’ll have to take things one step at a time.” He walked further into the room, brushing past Remus without a glance. “Has anyone experienced symptoms of the curse?”

Roman raised one hand hesitantly, the other still wrapped around his own stomach in an act of comfort. 

Nobody else raised a hand. 

Janus nodded his understanding. “I was hoping the answer would be none, but one person is easy enough to handle.” 

Patton stopped forward, a fierce look in his eyes that Remus had never seen before. It was shocking, to say the least, and he found himself leaning forward expectantly to hear what Morality had to say. “I hope when you say ‘easy to handle’ you mean that you’ll be helping take care of him until we can figure out how to end the—” he seemed to choke on the word, eyes closing to hide his sudden fear, before he finished his sentence weakly; “How to end the curse.” 

“That’s exactly what I meant,” Janus assured him. 

Patton nodded, moving to stand protectively by Roman’s side. Remus pretended not to notice when his brother leaned onto Patton.

Virgil huffed — Remus noticed suddenly that he’d also moved closer to Roman and the three of them resembled a pack of wolves protecting their young. “Remus shouldn’t stay here,” he stated, “He clearly can’t control himself.” 

Remus was about to argue, a retort ready to hiss at the traitor, when Janus nodded in agreement. “Yes, I agree. It’s probably for the best that he stays on our side of the mindscape until this is all over.” 

The Duke knew better than to argue with Deceit in front of the others, especially when he’d already made himself such a disappointment already. 

“I, however, will stay here to help tend to Roman and to help search for a way to stop the curse,” Janus continued. He was pacing now, running through his thoughts as quickly as he could. He paused to pull in a deep breath before he added, “Logic, I would imagine you keep records of everything that happens in The Mindscape and The Subconscious?” 

Logic nodded, “Of course.” 

“Perfect,” Janus replied, “Then we have a place to start.” 

“I suppose,” Logan agreed but his brow was furrowed with confusion. “However, isn’t there a much more simple option?” Everyone turned to him with varying looks of surprise and confusion. The bespeckled man sighed in a long-suffering way, as though he was the only one with any sense, then turned to Roman. “Who is the recipient of your affections? All you need do is have them return your feelings.”

Remus had to turn his head to hide a snort of laughter. Janus glared at him briefly but Remus could see the slight mirth in his eyes that betrayed his amusement — he clearly knew Roman’s secret as well.

Roman had turned bright red at the question, sputtering uselessly for a moment before Patton stepped in with a careful hand on the creative sides shoulder. Patton raised his eyes to Logan, “It doesn’t really work that way, Logan,” he explained quietly, “If the person can’t— doesn’t feel the same, it will probably just make things worse.” 

Logan’s brow furrowed again, clearly not understanding but nodding along anyways. 

Janus clapped his hands together, returning the focus to himself. “Well, Logic—- Or, Logan, was it?” Logan nodded curtly and Janus smiled with false cheer. “Well, Logan, we should get started right away. Let’s hit the books.” 

The two of them left swiftly. 

When Remus turned to look at the remaining Light Sides none of them were paying him any mind. Another coughing fit had rounded on Roman, causing Patton to coo over him and rub his back supportively. Remus could barely make out the whispered reassurances being offered to Roman. 

Virgil was watching Roman uneasily, clearly concerned but not knowing how to help. 

Remus realized suddenly that they were likely expecting him to leave. He wanted to grab his backpack off his improvised bed but that would require moving past a still-upset Virgil and that seemed dangerous. He sighed to himself and slipped out of the room before sinking down into The Dark Side.

***

It was the middle of the night and Remus was sitting on his bed miserably, twisting a rat-skull between his hands anxiously. He tended to summon gross things to fiddle with when he was upset. 

He didn’t expect the knock on his door.

Snapping the skull out of existence, he stood and started to walk to the door. It flew open before he reached it though and Janus stood there, face pale and eyes narrowed. “Remus—” he started but he was unable to finish. 

His coughing fit produced dozens and dozens of purple petals, falling like broken dreams onto the floor.


	9. Redeeming Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is... Boring. _However_ , I felt it was important to explain/redeem Janus' recent behaviour towards Remus. 
> 
> I did actually figure out part of the end game for this fic, by the way! Not all of it... But a big part of it.
> 
> I want to start calling out frequent commenters every few chapters! Today I'd like to thank **hourglasses_sim** ! Your comments are always appreciated.

Janus’ coughing fit passed in time and his anger seemed to fade along with it. 

“Remus,” he whispered, voice breaking and weak as he made his way towards The Duke and fell heavily into his arms. 

Remus’ heart broke for his friend. “I’m so sorry, Janus,” he rushed, his voice hushed in the dark room as he carried the man to the bed. 

Once they were both sitting, leaning into each other's embrace, Janus sighed heavily. “Don’t apologize. This is Roman’s fault, after all. He antagonized you.”

Remus hummed his agreement, arms tightening around Janus. “What’re we going to do?” 

“Logan and I are trying to find records of the first time you tried the curse. There’s a possibility that if we compare the subconscious reaction from then and now, we may find the difference and that will help us find a way to stop the inevitable.” 

Remus winced, arms tightening further — Janus huffed in discomfort but he didn’t pull away. 

They fell into silence for a long while. 

It was hard for Remus to keep his thoughts away from the obvious: Janus still loved Virgil. _But why?_ Anxiety had abandoned The Dark Side so long ago — he was a traitor! Remus knew that Janus’ heart had been broken… How could his best friend still love the person who had caused that pain?

Suddenly, Janus broke the silence. “I’m sorry.” 

“Why are _you_ sorry?” Remus asked, pulling away from their hug to stare in bewilderment. “You didn’t do anything.” 

“I did,” Janus insisted. The yellow-clad side refused to look at Remus, eyes downcast while his finger fiddled absently with the lace-ruffles on Remus’ shoulders. “I was unfair to you, Remus, and asked you to go against your nature. I saw how hard it was for you, how much you were struggling, and I allowed it.” He paused, drawing in a deep breath that he released slowly. “I allowed them to send you back here. Alone.”

Remus shrugged half-heartedly. “It’s fine,” he mumbled, hoping to ease Janus’ guilt. “I’m a liability.”

“No!” Janus’ eyes turned sharp, “You are not a liability or a burden, Remus. I would never leave you behind. You deserve better than that.”

Though he tried, Remus couldn’t stop the emotions that turned to tears welling up in his eyes. He pulled his best friend into another hug, whimpering for a moment. Janus rubbed his back, shushing him and muttering reassurance. 

When his crying calmed, turning to sniffles, Remus pulled away again. “Janus… Are you going to be okay?” 

Janus sighed and pulled off his hat, holding it in his lap as he stared at the ground. “I don’t know,” he admitted, “There’s a very real chance that we won’t be able to find a loophole. Thomas Sanders has a very strong imagination and the caster is incredibly talented at what he does.” They shared a wry smile before Janus added, “The only other option is to properly break the curse—” 

“Well, why don’t we try that?” Remus interrupted. He couldn’t lose Janus. If finding love with Virgil was the only option then they’d find a way!

But Janus only laughed, the sound distant and sad. “No,” he murmured, “That’s not…” Another deep breath, this time followed by a sigh; “I wouldn’t want him to love me because he _has_ to. Besides… I had my chance with Virgil.” 

Remus didn’t understand but he nodded anyway. 

“The Light Sides can’t know,” Janus told him seriously, placing his hat back on his head. “If they know I have the curse, they will see my intentions as self-serving. They need to believe that I genuinely want to break the curse for all of our sakes.” 

Remus fell back onto his pillows, sighing so heavily he had to gasp for more breath. “This is all Roman’s fault,” he muttered bitterly. 

Janus nodded, falling to lay beside him, cuddled close for warmth. “He’s very self-absorbed,” he mused.

Remus hummed his agreement. 

***

The next day, Remus woke up to Janus squirming in his grip. 

“Remus!” the snake hissed, “I’ve got to—” he choked, the sound gargled and strained in his throat. 

Remus immediately removed his arms, sleepily muttering a hasty apology as Janus sat up and leaned over the side of the bed to cough up petals… And blood. “Fuck,” the man hissed between coughs. 

“You okay?” The Duke asked in a sleep-muddled voice, rubbing the sleep from his green eyes. “Need a bucket?” 

Janus, heaving breaths, kept his face turned away from Remus. “No,” he said eventually, voice scratchy, “But some tissues would be helpful.” 

Remus nodded, getting off the bed as quickly as he could so early in the morning. (He assumed it was earlier, anyways, because he was never this tired when he woke up in the middle of the afternoon.) He made his way to their shared bathroom — too cold and too dark in their side of the mindscape — to grab a pack of tissues. He returned to pass them off to Janus before falling back into bed. 

“Thank you,” Janus sighed, wiping the blood from his lips and chin. “Roman has not been coughing up blood, to my knowledge,” he muttered to himself. 

Watching his best friend with worry in his eyes, Remus raised a brow. “Maybe it’s ‘cause you’ve loved Virgil for so long?” 

“Perhaps,” Janus hummed, “Though it does suggest that I may have less time than your dearest brother.” 

_That_ got Remus’ attention. 

“Less time?!” he asked shrilly, “That’s— That means less than a month!”

Janus rolled his eyes and rubbed at his temple, a clear sign that his head was aching after his recent coughing fit. “That is correct,” he replied, “I’ll have to work hard to find a cure. Logic— Er, Logan’s help will be invaluable.” 

“I’ll help!” Remus scrambled across the bed and grabbed at Janus’ hand eagerly. “I’ll go into The Imagination and look for clues.” 

“You only have access to half of The Imagination,” Janus pointed out with a raised brow. 

Remus huffed. He didn’t need the reminder… “I know,” he muttered darkly. If he hadn’t ruined the plan then maybe Janus would have been able to fix that problem — just one more thing Remus had lost. “But,” he continued, brightening significantly, “It was my magic that caused this, y’know? The answer is probably in my arena.” 

Janus paused to think, rubbing at his head all the while. “That… Makes a surprising amount of sense,” he allowed, smiling slightly. “Well then, Remus, I accept your help. You go find what you can and we can converse again in the evening before I have dinner with The Light Sides.” 

There was a long moment of silence while Remus held his breath, shoulders tight. Janus would be having dinner with the others…? He supposed it made sense, all things considered, but it didn’t feel fair. Remus didn’t want to be alone all night. 

It seemed that Janus noticed his change in demeanour. “You know I have to stay with them as much as possible, Remus,” he whispered, eyes trained on the floor. “I know—” he paused, thinking for a moment, “I won’t leave you behind, I promise, Remus. But I will have to find a new way to bring you into their good graces. It likely will take a few years, at best.”

Remus cringed. “Years?” he squeaked. 

“This stunt you’ve pulled was rather dramatic,” Janus chuckled weakly. 

Remus had no reply and soon enough Janus was standing. “I’ll see you tonight,” he assured as he walked to the door, “Please work hard in The Imagination today; it’s important we are quick.”

“Be careful!” Remus called, but Janus was already out the door.


	10. The Imagination

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow! It's been a while! I got really wrapped up in some commission work I was doing; sorry for the wait! 
> 
> This chapter is mostly filler however there are some foreshadowing elements... 
> 
> I'm sure nobody will be happy to hear that I've joined the ranks of people who add OC's into their fandom stories... I wish I could say I was sorry but the characters I came up with are already very special to me.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

When Remus walked into his side of the imagination, he was happy to see that the usual chaos and mayhem was thriving! His castle, lit only by green torches on the walls, was as filthy as it had always been — the sight ignited flames of excitement in his chest and he longed to cause more destruction and torment. 

But now was not the time. He had a mission, after all. 

“Heppy!” Remus called out. His voice was barely a whisper compared to the shouting and screaming that echoed around the throne room — the thousands of people fighting amongst themselves hadn’t even noticed his entrance. 

Still, it was no surprise when the crowd parted slightly and Heppy emerged. “Your grace,” the man bowed low enough that his long, greasy hair nearly touched the floor, “We were not expecting your arrival. Please excuse the lack of applause.” 

Heppy looked the same as ever, dressed in a tattered suit with blood-covered boots. His hair, black as the night sky, hung loosely around his shoulders. When he finally stood to his full height, hands rounding each other nervously, he was at least two feet taller than Remus or any other person in the room. His green eyes darted around as though he expected punishment to appear from every angle — Remus idly wondered why, for Heppy was someone he had never harmed. Hephaestus had been one of Remus’ first creations, after all, and held a special place in the duke's heart. 

“No worries,” the duke grinned, “I think I prefer this, anyhow. What started a brawl in the throne room?” 

Humming anxiously, Heppy moved to stand by Remus’ side as they stared across the room. “The staff forgot to serve gravy during last month's annual feast.” 

“An egregious mistake,” Remus nodded. 

“Shall I halt the brawl, your grace?” 

Remus shook his head. “Let them have their fun,” he insisted, “I’m here on important matters; I have no time to engage in the battle… Though, the staff certainly deserves the slaughter.” 

“Indeed,” Heppy agreed. “What are the important matters, your grace?” 

Surveying the room for a final time, Remus shook his head. “I cannot tell you _here_. Take me to the library.” 

“Of course, your grace,” Heppy agreed. He barely had to step towards the crowd before it parted, creating a path just big enough for the man-servent and the duke to squeeze through. 

Exiting the throne room brought an immediate calm. The castle hallways were so empty that their footsteps echoed ominously as they walked. The clicking of Remus’ expensive boots contrasted the thud of Heppy’s cheap ones and created an off-beat rhythm that sounded terrible when it bounced around the tall ceiling and walls — Remus felt soothed by the music. 

“Are you happy to be back?” Heppy asked curiously when he noticed Remus’ soft smile. “It has been many moons, your grace. You were dearly missed.” 

Remus chuckled softly. “I always miss this place,” he responded eagerly. He used his powers to replace a fallen torch as they passed by, illuminating the space around them by a fraction. “I’m sorry I don’t come more often.”

“Please do not apologize!” Heppy insisted — his nerves seemed to flare like flames in his eyes. “You have many responsibilities, your grace! Your presence here is always a welcomed gift but we would never think so highly of ourselves that we may be your priority!” 

Scoffing, the duke waved his hand absently through the air. “Shut up, Heppy,” he chastised, “I’ll try to visit more often.” 

Heppy looked like he wanted to protest but his words died on his tongue when Remus shot him a short look. Instead, he simply nodded and said, “Whatever you wish, your grace.” 

They reached the door to the library and Heppy was quick to open it. 

“Thank you, Heppy,” Remus hummed, already moving inside quickly. “Do you think you could fetch Athena?”

“Of course, your grace,” Heppy nodded. He bowed low before scurrying away — too fast and nervous for someone of his size. The juxtaposition made Remus laugh.

While he waited, the green-clad side began his search. The library held books dated years and years in the past. Some self-written, some classics, and even some that had appeared on their own throughout the years without an author to claim them — the latter were rare but they seemed to be recordings of events within The Imagination. Remus assumed they were similar to the Subconscious Records that Logan and Janus were examining.

Remus found the most recent of the mysterious books — titled ‘ _Duke Remus and The Cave_ ’ — and flipped through its pages. It didn’t seem to hold any accounts of recent magic or dark curses… Instead, it featured the story of his last adventure. A month previous, when he had come to The Imagination alone and discovered a new cave far in the North. It had been mostly empty but echoed with sinful moans and pants. He’d explored for hours and found very few things to speak of, with one glaring exception — a large door, glowing and hot as flames. He was unable to touch the handle due to the heat and he expected it to be locked anyhow. 

An interesting discovery, to be sure, but nothing too out of the ordinary. New things were always popping up in The Imagination and Remus always discovered their secrets at the most opportune times. 

Regardless of all that, he knew the story already. He had lived it. The book didn’t provide him with any useful information about anything. 

He was putting the book away when Heppy walked back into the room, Athena by his side.

“Your grace,” she greeted quietly, bowing low. Her black hair was pulled into a long braid straight down her back and her sharp eyes stared at him with interest. “You’ve been gone for some time. How have you been?” So direct, as usual.

Remus grinned at her. “I’ve been fine,” he lied, moving forward to greet her. “And you, Athena?” 

She shrugged. “I’ve been surrounded by heathens, as usual.”

Remus’ cackle filled the room with ease. “I’m sure,” he agreed happily. 

“Did you need my help with something?” she asked, always one to get straight to the point of matters. 

There was no sense in lying, so he nodded. “I need to find a few books.” 

“Well, you’ve come to the right place,” she drawled, gesturing loosely around the library. Her sarcastic smile was familiar and fond. 

He rolled his eyes and groaned. “Yes, obviously,” he muttered through a smile he couldn’t force away, “Specific books, Athena! I need specific books.” Her only reply was a raised brow so he continued; “I need to see any books we have on curses. Also, any record books that mention _The Curse of Hanhaki_.” 

Her pinched brows indicated her confusion but she didn’t comment. With a nod and a short bow, she turned on her heel to disappear behind shelves of books. 

“Curses, your grace?” Heppy piped up, his raised brow identical to the one Athena had sent Remus’ way — they were siblings, after all, and bore a resemblance in many ways.

“Yes,” Remus nodded, already turning to examine the bookshelf in front of him. “I cursed King Roman.” 

There was a brief silence that Remus barely noticed, his thoughts absorbed in the titles in front of him…

But when Heppy spoke again, Remus found his attention anywhere but dusty old books. “That’s wonderful, your grace! How did you do it?” 

“Wonderful?!” Remus shouted, whirling to glare fiercely at his servant. Heppy wasn’t a smart man but Remus’ hadn’t designed him to be stupid either. “What is so wonderful about it, Hephaestus?!”

The giant man looked so fearful suddenly, his shoulders pulling up in a tense show of nerves. “I only meant- Your grace, you see- I assumed-” 

“Spit it out!” Remus demanded. 

“You hate him!” Heppy shouted, voice cracking. He stepped backwards, as though resisting an urge to run away. “King Roman is our enemy! _Your_ enemy! I only meant to congratulate you on your victory over him.” 

Remus stared at him curiously for a long moment before heaving a resigned sigh. “My apologies, Hephaestus.” 

The tall man shook his head vehemently, arms waving through the air in distress. “No, your grace! No need to apologize! My blunder was unacceptable and-” 

“Hephaestus,” Remus stated firmly. The servant went silent. “The mistake was mine.” He sighed and turned back towards the books, scanning their spines for clues despite his mind being elsewhere. “Your response would have been warranted a few weeks ago; a few days ago, even. Things have changed.” 

Heppy didn’t speak a word but Remus could feel the man's confused gaze like a knife cutting through his skin. 

He opened his mouth to continue but found himself at a loss for words. Why had Heppy’s assumption angered him so? Roman falling ill, and under a curse designed by Remus, should have felt like a victory — instead, he felt empty. Cold. Scared.

“I ruined a plan,” he finally stated, “A plan Janus had concocted to destroy The Light Sides once and for all.” 

“Will King Roman die?” Heppy asked hesitantly.

“Yes.”

“Then… How is the plan ruined?”

Remus grew frustrated but bit his tongue. Heppy deserved a proper answer. “Janus will die as well,” he finally stated. Somehow, it felt like a half-truth — like he had forgotten to finish his sentence. 

Still, Heppy gasped in shock. “Does Lord Janus need to see a doctor?” he asked quickly, “I’m sure Hygieia would be more than willing-” 

“It’s a curse,” Remus interrupted, “Roman or I will be the one to break it. With Roman the way he is, the duty falls to me. I’m the only one who can.” 

“And if you can’t?” Heppy asked, his voice barely a whisper in the large room.

“Then they will die,” Remus told him.

Athena came around the corner just then, her arms filled with more books then Remus thought she would be able to carry — he could barely see her through the pile! “I found many books on curses!” she announced victoriously, dropping them with an unceremonious thud by Remus’ feet, “But only one book mentioning _The Curse of Hanahaki_.” She hesitated before grabbing said book from the top of the stack. “Your grace, I took the liberty of reading it… Do you plan to cast this curse?” 

Remus shrugged wearily as he plucked it from her hands. It seemed to be one of the mysterious records and it was titled very plainly; ‘ _Duke Remus and The Curse of Hanahaki._ ’ 

"I already have.”


	11. The New Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HUGE thank you to **Ive_never_read_fluff** for your comments! You really got me excited about writing a new chapter.
> 
> This chapter wrote itself? Things have changed. As usual, I have three different ideas for where this is going. At this point, I'm making it all up as I go. Whoops.

Though Remus was loath to admit it, the record book was almost entirely unhelpful. Like the record books that had previously shown up, it was a simple retelling of events; specifically, ' _Duke Remus and The Curse of Hanahaki_ ' was a retelling of the first time Remus had attempted the curse. 

The only detail of interest came at the end of the book. Unlike the normal records which were neatly tied off with a “The End,” this one had an open ending and a plethora of blank pages… 

“It’s as if the story isn’t finished,” Athena stated as she plucked the book from Remus’ hands. “How intriguing…” 

“Indeed,” Remus nodded in agreement, “Has this happened with any of the other record books?” 

Athena shook her head. “Not to my knowledge. There are sequels if you visit the same place twice, but I’ve never seen any that weren’t completed.” 

The Duke and the librarian went quiet, each lost in thought until Heppy cleared his throat. At the sound, they both glanced up curiously. “It seems,” he began meekly, hands running circles around each other as he spoke, “The books only record the happenings of our side of the imagination, Your Grace. Perhaps the story isn’t complete because some parts of it happened elsewhere.”

Athena hummed encouragingly. “Yes! Good thinking Hephaestus.” She turned to Remus with a rare smile — one she only wore when she was certain she knew the correct answer to a problem — and passed the book back. “This story began before The Imagination was divided. The missing parts must be in the other kingdom.” 

While asking Roman for help wasn’t ideal, Remus knew that Janus would be happy to have any information at all. And after all, Remus wasn’t trying to break the curse for Roman’s sake… 

The image of Janus covered in blood and purple petals brought a grimace to Remus’ lips. 

“Thank you both for your help today,” he stated as he tucked the record book into his belt, “Hopefully this information will be of use. I should head back though.” 

“Of course, Your Grace!” Heppy nodded, “I’ll escort you immediately.” 

Athena only offered him a bored roll of her eyes before muttering, “Be safe, Your Grace, and good luck.” 

*** 

Remus spent the rest of the afternoon pacing around his room in endless circles. The action caused him great dizziness and a headache but anything was better than sitting in silence. 

Why was everything always so silent? 

***

Remus spent the evening throwing glass at his bedroom walls.

He thrived in the sound of the crash. When the shards fell to the floor he crushed them violently under his boots just to hear the sound of it. The longer he went on, the more his wall-paper ripped and revealed the rotted wood below. 

The Dark Side was unkempt and discarded.

Part of Remus knew that he belonged here, unkempt and discarded, not in The Light Side where everything was tidy and enjoyable. 

Janus was late.

Remus ate his dinner of leftover mashed potatoes and canned ravioli alone.

Evening turned to night.

Janus was late… 

Remus wondered if his friend, his only friend, had been seduced by The Light Sides in the same way Anxiety had been. What if Janus never came back? Where would that leave Remus? 

Ah, but hadn’t Janus promised that he wouldn’t leave Remus behind? 

Had that been a lie? 

*** 

It was nearing midnight when the sound of intense coughing woke Remus from the light slumber he’d fallen into. The sound pushed him off the living room couch so violently that he stumbled before running towards Janus’ bedroom. 

The door was unlocked — an unusual occurrence for Janus — so Remus was able to fall through the doorway rather quickly. “Janus?!” he shouted, unable to help the loudness of his voice, “Are you okay?!” 

The snake-man was standing by a desk to the left of the room, leaning heavily on the chair as he heaved copious amounts of petals onto the floor.

Not just petals, Remus noted, but full flowers. Balloon flowers, lavenders, cosmos, foxgloves, and pansies… And mixed among the soft pieces of nature were chunks of gory blood and saliva, bits of flesh and puke. The floor was a painted picture of Remus’ own intrusive ideas. 

For a moment, he wondered if the curse would paint a prettier demise if Roman had created it. 

The green-clad side whimpered pitifully and ran to Janus’ side to support him. “You need to lay down,” he suggested; when the sick man gave no protest, Remus began to help him limp towards the bed. The coughing didn’t cease but the production of gore and petals seemed to lessen with each heave. 

Once Janus was laying down, hat and cape thrown haphazardly to the floor, Remus summoned a glass of water and helped the man carefully sip at the drink. 

They sat together in silence — dreadful, awful, terrible silence — for long moments. 

Until finally Janus muttered, “Sorry I’m late.” 

“It’s fine.”

“It really isn’t.” 

Remus wanted to scream when they descended into silence once more. He knew he could just talk, say anything to break it, but he didn’t know what to say. 

He wanted to throw the glass of water at the wall. 

“They asked me to sit with Roman,” Janus finally muttered, “That’s what kept me. They needed to solve a problem for Thomas Sanders but Patton was terrified to leave Roman on his own.” 

Remus nodded along in understanding. “What did Thomas need?” he asked, unable to help his curiosity. 

“Hell if I know,” Janus huffed, rolling onto his side to face the Duke properly. “It seemed important though.”

Discomfort spread through Remus like a plague. “I didn’t feel any pull towards him.” 

This seemed to catch Janus’ attention. “Do you typically?” 

“Yes.” 

“Interesting…” 

“Don’t you?” Remus asked. While he spoke, he crawled into the bed with Janus — his friend was quick to make room and cuddle close.

The snake was ice-cold to touch. 

Remus wrapped him in a tight embrace.

“No, I don’t,” Janus replied quietly. “Only on rare occasions.” 

“It sucks to feel the pull so often,” Remus confided, “Especially since I know I can never go.”

Again, Janus’ attention seemed intrigued. He looked up from his spot nestled to Remus’ chest and raised a brow curiously. “When I feel the pull, it is not a choice. I am summoned into the conference room immediately.” 

Confusion and sadness spread faster and faster through Remus. “I haven’t been since childhood. I don’t even remember what the conference room looks like.” 

“Perhaps… It may be because you and Roman serve such similar functions. He supplements your absence.” Janus looked sad now as well, his eyes filled with sympathy for Remus. “Thomas Sanders always summons his creativity… But he doesn’t necessarily need you both to make a creative decision.” 

“So Roman has been making decisions for me?” Remus asked.

Janus shrugged but the way he bit his lip suggested that he thought the assessment was accurate. 

Remus closed his eyes with a heavy sigh. It wasn’t a surprising revelation, but it was frustrating nevertheless.

“Perhaps we should let the curse take him.” The look in Janus’ eyes had changed to anger now. “He deserves it.” 

The sentiment was nice, Remus supposed, but he shook his head with a chuckle. “No. We need to break the curse, Janus, or you’ll die as well.” 

The silence this time wasn’t as painful. Remus could almost fall asleep with Janus’ comforting weight on his chest. 

But Janus continued speaking, so Remus forced his eyes to stay open. 

“My death would be inconsequential, Remus. Thomas Sanders doesn’t call on my function very often… I’m certain the others could supplement for me. Patton already lies to himself and the others enough as it is.” 

And suddenly Remus was wide awake. 

The shriek he released was entirely involuntary as he sat straight up in the bed, accidentally pushing Janus off himself. “What?! No!” 

“Please calm down,” Janus shushed, seemingly unfazed. He sat himself up as well and faced Remus. A stray cough caused a single petal to fall between them before he continued. “I know you think you need me, Remus, but you don’t. Perhaps our plan should change.” 

“I do need you!” Remus insisted, but Janus seemed to ignore him.

“I think we should spend the remainder of the month convincing Patton to change Thomas Sanders’ morals slightly. If he will compromise on his stance, then he can successfully take my place. You already have the skills necessary to take over the entirety of the imagination when Roman dies, so all you have to do is make sure the curse is not broken.” 

“Janus!” 

“It shouldn’t be hard.” Now Janus seemed to be on a roll, a hand placed to his chin as he thought over his new scheme. He seemed oblivious to Remus’ turmoil. “Although Logan does seem to enjoy Roman’s company, I’m unsure _Logic_ has the _capability_ to love. Even if he does, it shouldn’t be hard to deter him. We simply convince him that Roman has been cursed through a different side… Patton, perhaps. It would be believable enough. They’re very close.”

Janus stood from the bed and began pacing, muttering more about his new plan as he went. 

Remus could only watch helplessly. When his mind was made, it would be impossible to change Janus’ focus. 

Janus wanted to die. 

The world seemed to bleed red. 

Janus wanted to die and it was entirely Virgil’s fault. 

For the first time, Remus couldn’t bring himself to go along with Janus’ plan… 

So he would form one of his own.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for all the comments so far!
> 
> Fan art? Tag me on Tumblr!
> 
> Tumblr: @finally-isaac  
> Twitter: @finally_isaac


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